Ariel Pink - Photo by Alessandro Mannucci

Ariel Pink - Photo by Alessandro Mannucci

Leon Caren and C. della Gherardesca - Photo by Alessandro Mannucci

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Born Ariel Marcus Rosenberg he is one of the
most important and directional artists in contemporary music.
Ariel Pink's discography comprises an endless
amount of CDRs, cassettes and
vynils. All lo-fi material,
usually recorded at home whilst experimenting with the lost sounds
of AOR music. Imagine a television set tuned into
VH1 and hurled into a Glendale swimming pool: that's the
unmistakable Ariel Pink sound.

Once you've heard it, and you've fallen in love with it, you won't
be surprised to know that this very sound has influenced dozens of
new bands who proudly admit it: Girls and Neon
Indian are just two examples. Ariel has
just come out with his 24th release, his 9th official
album but the first to be recorded in a professional
studio. This time round he's accompanied by a an actual rock band:
Ariel Pink's Haunted
Graffiti.

Ariel's cultural relevance is proven by the fact that his
new album Before Today is published by
4AD, the prestigious record label that is also
home to Scott Walker.Before Today is spectacular, I highly recommend it. Not
only have I already bought several copies but I also flew to
Amsterdam in order to witness Ariel Pink's Haunted
Graffiti live.

While chatting with Ariel I asked him to comment
on a statement he recently made in which he said that R.
Stevie Moore, the father of DIY, killed
rock 'n roll. According to him when Stevie Moore
began producing his own music from home in the 70s… classic rock
became obsolete. Touring with groupies and smashing hotel rooms a
la Led Zeppelin became ridiculous and passé.

I asked Ariel if he believes that playing garage
punk nowadays is also ridiculous. He answered that "Playing
garage punk is always ridiculous". Intelligent
musicians, he explained, are influenced by all
that surrounds them, even Avril Lavigne.
And not just by the same old tired rock'n roll clichés from the 60s
and 70s.

Having said that his performance with his band Haunted
Graffiti was at times reminiscent of legendary freak scene
rockers Hawkwind. When I told him he pretended to
take offence, but in reality he was very proud. And rightly so: his
concert in Amsterdam was sensational. Standing on boxes of
discarded beer bottles I witnessed an enthusiastic crowd of people
from all over the world crammed inside the Nieuwe Anita to witness
the ascent of a true rock 'n roll star. A talented genius who is
finally getting the recognition he deserves.